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History

Morse Code and electric telegraph were used for the first time in the Crimean War (1835-1837) and, following the Abyssinian War in 1867 a Signal Wing was formed by the Royal Engineers at Chatham, Kent.
In 1884, the Telegraph Battalion Royal Engineers was formed and served in the Nile Campaign and the Ashanti Campaign, during which men of the Telegraph Battalion cut a path for an overhead line from the Cape coast to Prahsu, 72 miles through jungle. The feat was such that King Prempeh offered the surrender of his Army, awed by their determination. King Prempeh's throne is now displayed in the Royal Signals Museum at Blandford, Dorset.

The Telegraph Battalion continued to operate communications during the Boer War until the Royal Engineer Signals Service was formed in 1908, which provided communications throughout World War One. Although planned since before the end of the war, a dedicated Signal Corps was not created until 1920. A Royal Warrant was signed by the Secretary of State for War, Winston Churchill, who gave the Sovereign's approval for the formation of a Corps of Signals on June 28 1920. Six weeks later, the King bestowed the title Royal Corps of Signals.

Soldiers of the Royal Corps of Signals erecting a satellite ground station